China's box offices grossed 47.258 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) in 2021, the highest in the world for the second consecutive year, according to the latest statistics from the China Film Administration.

The annual box office revenue in East China's Zhejiang province stood at 3.574 billion yuan, making up 7.56 percent of the national aggregate, the third highest among all provincial-level regions.

Seventy-six new cinemas were opened while 18 old ones were closed last year in Zhejiang. The province is currently home to 820 cinemas which have 5,716 large screens.

Among the 58 Chinese films that each earned more than 100 million yuan in revenue last year, six were made by Zhejiang-based film producers. The highest-grossing Zhejiang-made film was A Little Red Flower (1.433 billion yuan in box office revenue).

Last year, Hengdian World Studios, which is located in Zhejiang's Dongyang city, hosted 398 film and television series crews, including the group that made the blockbuster movie The Battle at Lake Changjin, which generated more than 5.7 billion yuan in box office revenue. The Chinese war epic was the second highest grossing movie in the world in 2021 and the highest grossing movie in Chinese history.

Between January and November in 2021, Xiangshan Global Studios, located in Zhejiang's Xiangshan county, hosted 226 film and television series crews, up 24.7 percent from the year before.

A scene from A Little Red Flower features pop star Yi Yangqianxi and actress Liu Haocun. [Photo/Douban]